uprobot

I am in the process of applying for admission into Fall 2013 PhD programs. I graduated from Boston University with a dual BS in biomedical engineering & mechanical engineering; my cumulative undergraduate GPA is not great (overall: 3.17, engineering: 3.08, the GPA factors in transfer coursework done at a state school prior to transferring to BU). I am studying for the GRE and I am confident that I can do well on the quantitative section.

I am also entering my 3rd year as a research technician for a leading orthopedic lab, doing full-time biomaterials research on polymers. I am in the process of writing (and hopefully submitting soon) two 1st authored papers. I am getting my recommendations from a BU professor with whom I've done well in an introductory course, as well as being the customer for my senior design course in ME; my PI/supervisor who has mentored me the past two years; and the co-director of the laboratory (among the top in his field).

I would like advice as to whether or not I should even look at any (at all) top 10 schools for PhD programs in biomedical engineering. I recently networked with a professor and her graduate students (last February), who are from UC Berkeley, at a research conference and I think we clicked pretty well since we do work on the same material and therefore have a lot of overlap in research interests.

I feel that my low GPA (due to lack of maturity in college) is holding me back. Do I have absolutely no chance of receiving an offer an admissions from any top program (e.g. Berkeley)? Would I be given serious consideration at all, or would it rather be a waste of application fee? Also, I wonder if professors who are willing to accept me for their lab actually interact with the admissions committee to push for offering acceptance. Any encouragement, school suggestions, or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

pumiliod

rock the gre and apply to many schools

AquaBear

When you say "rock", how high are we talking? I haven't really heard a set guideline for high scores on the new GRE. Are you referring to 320? 328+? Thanks!

juillet

"Rocking" the GRE alone isn't going to help you much, as GRE typically doesn't outweigh your GPA. Doing well typically comes down to percentile ranks, though - you're going to want 95th+ percentile on the quant section.

There's nothing you can do about your UGPA now, so there's no use in worrying about it. It's honestly not that bad, especially for an engineering major at a great school. Make sure that your personal statement is outstanding, showing your passion for research and emphasizing your experience as a technician, as well as your fit for each program. Also make sure that you have very strong letters of recommendation. Those will help you far more than the GRE will.

uprobot

Thank you guys for the input so far! Does anyone have any idea as to how the adcom process works? Will I get filtered out immediately since I do not have a high 3 GPA? Do professors within the department have any influence or say on who to offer admission? Also, any suggestions for schools (ranking ranges) would be greatly appreciated!